Valve with grounded closure member

Abstract

A valve with a closure member that, in its closed position, seals the through-opening, with the interposition of the seal against the valve seat, and is movable into the closed position by a relative movement between the closure member and the supporting member. The supporting member, in the closed position of the closure member, is supported on the abutment seat. The valve also has at least one grounding element for electrically grounding the closure member in its closed position, fastened on a carrier component of the valve. The carrier component is the closure member, the supporting member, the valve seat, or the abutment seat. The grounding element has a contact element and a supporting element, which is connected to the contact element, and the contact element and the supporting element are formed of mutually different materials or material compositions and the contact element is softer than the supporting element.

1 . A valve, comprising:
 at least one through-opening, at least one closure member, at least one seal, at least one supporting member, at least one valve seat and at least one abutment seat, the closure member, in a closed position thereof, seals the through-opening, with the seal interposed between the closure member and the valve seat, and is movable into the closed position by a relative movement between the closure member and the supporting member, the supporting member, in the closed position of the closure member, is supported on the abutment seat,   at least one grounding element that electrically grounds the closure member in the closed position, the grounding element fastened on a carrier component of the valve, the carrier component comprises at least one of the closure member, the supporting member, the valve seat or the abutment seat, and the grounding element has at least one contact element and at least one supporting element connected to the contact element, and the contact element and the supporting element are formed of mutually different materials or material compositions and the contact element is softer than the supporting element.   
     
     
         2 . The valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the supporting element is supported on the carrier component by a side thereof which is located opposite the contact element. 
     
     
         3 . The valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the contact element, in the closed position of the closure member, abuts in an electrically conductive manner against an abutment component of the valve to ground the closure member, and, in at least one open position of the closure member that is different from the closed position, is raised off from the abutment component, and the abutment component is at least one of the closure member, the supporting member, the valve seat, or the abutment seat that is a component other than the carrier component. 
     
     
         4 . The valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the supporting element includes or is formed of at least one metal. 
     
     
         5 . The valve as claimed in  claim 4 , wherein the metal is aluminum or stainless steel. 
     
     
         6 . The valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the contact element includes or is formed of an elastomer. 
     
     
         7 . The valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the contact element is formed of a mixture of at least one elastomer and at least one additive for providing a low specific ohmic resistance for the contact element. 
     
     
         8 . The valve as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the elastomer includes or is formed of a rubber 
     
     
         9 . The valve as claimed in  claim 8 , wherein the rubber is a fluorinated rubber, a perfluorinated rubber, or silicone. 
     
     
         10 . The valve as claimed in  claim 7 , wherein the additive includes or is formed of a metal powder or a carbon-containing powder. 
     
     
         11 . The valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the contact element is vulcanized onto the supporting element. 
     
     
         12 . The valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the contact element has a Shore hardness of 40 Shore A to 90 Shore A. 
     
     
         13 . The valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the contact element has, in a main direction of loading, a thickness ranging from 0.4 mm to 3 mm. 
     
     
         14 . The valve as claimed in  claim 1 , wherein the supporting member, in the closed position of the closure member, is supported on the abutment seat by the grounding element or a plurality of grounding elements.